1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of temporary barriers in general, and in particular to a removable divider for the back seat of a vehicle to separate sparring siblings or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,205,670; 4,637,629; 4,938,401; 5,123,707; and 5,255,958, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse car seat restraint and divider constructions.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical car seat divider that will totally isolate one child from another during long or even short trips when the sibling rivalry between the children reaches the dangerous level such that each child has their own private space and the urge to interact with one another in a negative manner is virtually eliminated.
As most parents with young children are all too painfully aware, young children tend to squabble incessantly with one another when placed in the back seat of a car due to the tendency among siblings and other peer groups for the members of the group to try to establish dominance over one another.
Due to the limited space in the back seat of most vehicles and the need for most individuals, be they young or old to define their own personal space, several relatively unsuccessful attempts have been made in the past to provide partial barriers on the back seat of a vehicle to keep the contentious parties separated from one another to reduce the level of conflict that would otherwise arise absent the barriers.
Unfortunately, these prior art barriers do not afford the degree of separation that is truly required to eliminate conflicts in that the children have no barrier present below the level of the seat and as a result they can still kick at one another in an attempt to annoy or otherwise exhibit dominance over their sibling rival for the affection and/or attention of their parents.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved car seat divider that substantially isolates two children from visual and physical contact with one another when properly seat belted into the back seat of a vehicle, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.